How Deep Should You Squat?

How deep should you squat is a question that perplexes a lot of athletes
and to be honest, I am not surprised. After all it when it comes to the
best squat depth there are plenty of questions with more than one
answer.

Confusing Questions About Squat Depth

1) Quarter or half squat has a much closer range of motion to
an actual jump so it makes sense to just quarter and half squat right?
Yes and no.

2) Squatting is primarily a strength builder and so we should
be less worried about matching the exact range of motion of a jump and
more worried about building strength in the quads and glutes, and as
such a parallel squat is going to work fine? Again, yes and no.

3) What about Olympic weightlifters who squat very deep and
they have tremendously developed quads and glutes and many can jump
really high too so shouldn't we all be squatting as deep as possible in
order to get the full benefits from our efforts? You guessed it, yes and
no.

In this article I am going to briefly discuss the pros and cons of
each depth of squat and talk about when and who should use each.

Partial Squats

For simplicity sake I will refer to quarter and half squats as partial
squats as I don't want to get too caught up into what is a half and what
is a quarter squat. The point is anything where the tops of your quads
are clearly above parallel to the floor, is considered a partial squat,
and most athletes when doing partials will use a similar angle to the
one shown below.

Partial Squat

Benefits of Partial Squats

A partial squat does more closely resemble the range of motion (ROM)
used in an actual jump and as such it can be a good choice if you want
to focus on just strengthening that specific range. With a shorter range
of motion a partial squat allows for much heavier loads to be used
compared to what can be lifted on a full squat.

Drawbacks of Partial Squats

Due to the lesser involvement of the hamstrings (and glutes) in partial
squats there tends to be much greater shearing forces on the knees. When
this is combined with the heavier weights it can be troublesome for a
jumping athlete unless appropriate volumes and loads are used.

Parallel Squats

Parallel squatting is as the name suggests, squatting down until the
tops of your quads are parallel or ever so slightly above parallel to the
ground.

Parallel Squat

Benefits of Parallel Squats

Compared to deep squats, flexibility and mobility issues are less of a concern for when using
parallel squats. Most athletes can squat to parallel with good form
without having to go through an extensive learning curve.

The parallel depth provides a good mix of muscular involvement and
load capacity. The depth is sufficient to get plenty of muscles involved
but also not so deep that it drastically reduces the amount of weight
you can lift.

Drawbacks of Parallel Squats

Less glute involvement than deep squats. Even though the ROM is better
than a partial squat it still isn't as good as the deep squat and as
such glute recruitment is still less than that of a deep squat.

Deep Squats

Also known as Olympic squats or Ass to the Grass (ATG) squats, deep squats are a different beast yet again.

Deep Squat

Benefits of Deep Squats

A recent study on squat depth and jumping performance
concluded that deeper squats have a better carry over to vertical jump
performance than other squat depths. This is mostly due to the higher
levels of glute and (to a lesser extent) hamstring recruitment leading
to better overall strength development.

However greater strength development isn't the only benefit. Deep squats
when performed with appropriate loads and good form also reduce
sheering forces on the knees and help develop better joint integrity.
The reduced loading of the bar that deep squats require also tends to
help reduce the likelihood of an athlete hurting their knees.

Lastly it has been found that deep squats also tend to lend themselves
to better post-activity potentiation effects. This means if you are
using squats as part of a complex (using a heavy compound lift followed
by an unloaded plyometric/jumping exercise) the deep squats will produce
greater levels of muscle activation which will aid with the proceeding
jumping drill.

Drawbacks of Deep Squats

Many athletes simply do not possess sufficient mobility/flexibility to
perform a full deep squat with safe technique. What usually happens is
that the deeper they tend to excessively lean forward and lose the arch
in their back which compromises the safety of the lift.

The extra range of motion will also reduce the amount of load you can
use on the bar which initially slow strength gains and sap motivation.

So Which Squat Should You Use?

For a long time I have advocated here at verticaljumping.com
the idea that a parallel squat is sufficient depth for jumping athletes
to aim for as it provides a nice mix of muscle recruitment and safety
on the joints. However in the face of more recent scientific studies and
my own coaching and training experiments I believe that in the long run
it is full deep squats that will provide the best results for
increasing athleticism and vertical jump.

The problem is that most athletes when they are starting out lack the
required mobility and flexibility as well as muscular control to safely
perform full squats. In light of this I still recommend that most
athletes start with parallel squatting, but they should also be taking
the necessary steps to gradually work their way down to a full, deep
squat.

So what about partial squats? When should you use them in your jump
training? While I am tempted to say never due to potential knee risk and
the often lower results, that wouldn't technically be the best answer.
Partials are used by strength coaches with jumping athletes all around
the world. The main group who will benefit the most from these are
advanced athletes who have enough training knowledge and experience to
understand the specific nature of their use, as well as how to manage
load and volume properly in the context of their own custom jumping program.

General Advice About Squatting and Jump Training

For many younger athletes who want to learn how to jump higher
and who lack basic strength, working on their squat is one of the
quickest ways they can improve their vertical jump. There have been many
studies over the years that show a strong correlation to improvements in
squat strength and vertical jump performance.

If you are unsure how to put together a decent strength program that
is integrated with the principles of power development (jumping is a
power movement, not a strength movement. Just getting your squat up will
probably help your jump initially but you need to know how to
effectively incorporate more explosive movements into your workouts too)
then you would do well to have a look at our very affordable vertical jump program.

We provide custom vertical jump programs complete with exercises,
sets, reps, rest, and something no other program includes - appropriate WEIGHTS for any strength exercises you might need to do. It also comes with full coaching assistance as part of the purchase price.

Related Articles

Squats and Deadlifts
- Squats and deadlifts are the big two strength building exercises for
increasing your vertical jump. Check out our introductory look at these
great exercises.
Strength Training Part 1
- Getting strong is vital for jumping high. Part 1 of our 2 part look
at strength training covers the various theories behind strength
training.

How To Squat Deep Part 1 - How to squat deep. There are really only 2 reasons you can't squat deep. Learn what they are and how to fix them.

Weight Training Introduction
- To maximize your vertical jump you will need to lift weights. Here is
the introduction to our 3 part article on weight training and vertical
jump development.

WARNING: THE VERTICAL JUMP TRAINING TECHNIQUES DESCRIBED IN GAME CHANGERS ARE EXTREMELY POWERFUL. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN RAPIDLY ADD INCHES TO YOUR VERTICAL JUMP LIKE NEVER BEFORE.